


Reserve All Your Antipathy for Me

by Candyoranges



Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s), Past Relationship(s), Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 14:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7366438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candyoranges/pseuds/Candyoranges
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a new scientist supplants Nathan as the greatest subject of Sheriff Carter’s ire, he finds himself needing to solve the problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reserve All Your Antipathy for Me

**Author's Note:**

> So I was supposed to be working on the next installment of either Pilot Revisited or Finding Common Ground, but thought of this little plot bunny instead. And then that little bunny refused to go quietly to the bunny farm, and instead kept insisting – write me. Write me now. So yeah… Bonus story, yay?

Nathan was following Allison as she showed their newest scientist around Eureka. A geochemist, Dr. Noah Johnson was transferring from a private research facility in San Diego. As the co-heads of G.D., Allison had insisted they personally welcome all new hires, although Nathan privately thought there were better uses for their time as this was a task even Fargo could easily perform. Dr. Johnson wasn’t even being brought in as a department head or highly-sought specialist, _so why was he wasting time he could be spending in his lab?_

With only half of his mind focused on the tour taking place, (the other half thinking about the next stage of test results for his latest experiment), he followed the other two into Café Diem. Allison introduced Dr. Johnson to Vincent of course, before approaching the sheriff sitting in one of the back booths. Quickly refocusing his attention when presented with the opportunity for Carter-mocking, Nathan began thinking of the best subtle insults to use. (Allison would probably make him pay for it later, since she seemed to think the men should be getting along now that she had removed herself from their little love triangle, but needling Carter would never stop being the highlight of his day.)

Opening his mouth for an introductory salvo as they approached, he closed it again as he noticed that Carter’s face had gone carefully blank – something Nathan had never witnessed before. Carter always wore his emotions on his sleeve; it was part of why he was so fun to rile up.

Instead, Dr. Johnson was actually the first one to speak. “Jack?” he asked, sounding startled.

Carter's acknowledging, “Johnson,” was remarkably frosty – but still entirely blank-faced. Before Nathan could poke at the tantalizing metaphorical wasp’s nest in front of him, Carter was already standing up. “Sorry, some of us have actual work to do.” Without another word, the sheriff grabbed his coat and beat a hasty exit.

“So you two know each other?” It was Allison who posed the question as they both turned back to the new scientist. 

“Oh, we were friends back in college. I didn’t realize he was still upset about that fight we had last time we spoke.” Johnson’s answer was all charm when he replied, but Nathan wasn’t sure he bought it. Carter had never shut down that fast, even when he was his most angry at Nathan, so he doubted this was some small, petty argument.

Although he would never admit it even on pain of death, Carter was generally a good judge of character. As much as it annoyed the co-director when his scientists or guests were accused of foul play, the accusations often proved true. Granted, the sheriff’s idea of punishment was usually far more severe than Nathan felt was warranted, but the fact remained that if Carter was this pissed off there was probably a good reason. Perhaps it was worth taking a closer look at Johnson’s records, especially his college years. Just in case.

After a more thorough inspection, Johnson’s file still appeared clean, but the behavior of the two men continued to become more intriguing. The geochemist frequently sought Carter out, acting like the old friend he’d professed to be, even in the face of the blond’s constant rebuffs. In fact, if he didn’t know any better, Nathan might even have considered the other scientist’s actions flirtatious.

Carter, on the other hand, was doing everything in his power to avoid the other man and wore a pinched look on his face whenever Johnson came near him. 

Nathan was almost a little insulted that he seemed to have been supplanted as the sheriff’s least favorite person in town. This was only mitigated – and made more bizarre – by the fact that Carter was actually using him as a means to avoid interactions with the geochemist.

Twice Nathan had watched from his office as Carter was approached in the lobby by the other scientist, only for the Sheriff to make a quick change of direction and charge up the stairs to burst into the director's office with some flimsy excuse of a complaint or request.

Having Carter leave his office more relaxed than when he’d entered was uncanny to say the least. Although... both men did enjoy their banter more than they let on. Nathan had already admitted, if only to himself, that half of his snide comments were simply for the fun of irritating the good sheriff. And Carter’s comebacks were frequently delivered in good humor nowadays.

When the sheriff barged into his office for the third time in two weeks, (and a quick glance down to the lobby showed Dr. Johnson making his way to the elevators), Nathan finally had enough.

“So, what exactly is your problem with Noah Johnson?”

Carter stiffened at the name, but still denied there being any issue. 

Nathan leveled him with a look, “If there is something wrong with one of my scientists I expect you to tell me; you’ve certainly never been reticent about it before.”

"There’s nothing wrong like that – at least that I know of." The blond man grimaced, but seemed to accept the inevitable, collapsing into a chair with a deep sigh.

“He’s my ex-boyfriend. Things ended very... badly. I don’t know how he is as a scientist, but I did catch him cheating as a student.” Here he snorted unhappily, and muttered under his breath, “cheating in more than one way.”

_“Boyfriend?”_ That was not the answer the scientist had been expecting at all. 

“Hey, I was in the Marshals, not the Marines. Yes, I dated a few guys before I married Abby. Now can we talk about the security upgrades I requested last week?”

Reluctantly Nathan allowed the subject change, but the information refused to leave his brain. Re-analyzing all of the past interactions he’d witnessed between the two men, he saw that he’d been correct in his thoughts that Johnson had in fact been flirting with Carter.

And it pissed Nathan off. Only he was allowed to tease the blond man like that. _Wait, what?_

While he generally avoided introspection, the scientist found himself with the uncomfortable realization that Johnson was not the only one flirting with Carter – except with Nathan, Carter actually flirted back. He even acknowledged that perhaps there had been an attraction there for a while – seeing the constant flow of emotion in those blue eyes, how they positively glowed when he was ranting at Nathan, or the look of awe and childish excitement over something Nathan himself would have overlooked. 

Sharply, he pushed everything to the back of his mind. This awareness, and the new knowledge that Carter was bisexual, did not mean anything had changed. The two men still bickered constantly, even if Allison was no longer in the middle of their fights. More importantly, except for the flirting banter (which was likely unconsciously done anyway), Jack had never given the slightest indication that he’d actually be interested in Nathan. There was no point in thinking about possibilities that would never come to pass.

 

His resolution not to do anything with this new information only lasted two days.

He had been enjoying a quiet dinner by himself at Café Diem, (and watching Carter laughing with Vincent over at the bar), when Dr. Johnson entered and made a bee-line for the sheriff.

Nathan found himself tensing just as much as Carter when the geochemist placed a proprietary hand on the blond’s shoulder. Without any forethought, he had crossed the room and reached out his own hand to grip Johnson’s wrist tight enough to make him release. Keeping his voice low, to avoid causing a scene, but menacing enough to make a point, he stated “I believe the Sheriff has made his disinterest in your company more than plain.”

The other scientist took half a step back in surprise before recouping. “I don’t really see how my relationship with Jack is any of your business, Director. Besides, from what I’ve heard he doesn’t care for your company much either.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear.” Carter interjected firmly. Then with a half-pleading look over his shoulder, he continued, “Want to get out of here, Nathan?”

Nathan smoothly slid his hand to small of Jack’s back as he escorted him out of the restaurant, glaring at Johnson all the while.

It was only when they were two blocks away that Nathan realized he had yet to remove his hand. Grimacing, he stepped back. “What are the chances that Vincent didn’t overhear all of that and hasn’t already started spreading it all around town?”

To his surprise, Carter laughed, even as he looked a little chagrined. “It’ll add fuel to his betting book for column three, that’s for sure, but it’ll blow over. Thanks though, for, uh, back there.”

Nathan was distracted by the earlier statement however. “Column three?”

The blond man blushed and looked twice as uncomfortable as he had a minute ago. “Yeah. You know the betting book Vincent totally doesn’t keep under his bar? Apparently there’s a page with one column for you and Allison, one for me and Allison, and one for..." he trailed off, gesturing between them awkwardly.

Flabbergasted to realize that people have been betting on him and Carter getting together, he found himself asking whose names were on the list. 

“Jo and Fargo, I think. Maybe Henry. Definitely Zane. I, uh, haven't really asked.”

“Then what makes you think they’ve been betting on... us.”

Jack’s face was flaming now as he avoided eye contact. “Jo has, uh, speculated about how all our arguing would, um, translate in bed.”

That was a very compelling picture actually. Jack was very passionate in everything he did, and he riled Nathan up like no one else. Imagining winning Jack’s surrender – or Jack enforcing his own victory – sent a shiver of lust down Nathan’s spine and gave him a sudden feeling of recklessness.

“Well, she probably wouldn’t be wrong.”

Seeing Jack goggle at him put a smirk back on his face as he stepped closer, crowding Jack up against one of the closed shops on the quiet side street. “We do know how to push all of each other’s buttons. Are you saying you’ve never wanted to bend me to your will?”

Jack was sputtering now, but his breathing had also quickened. “I thought you were the one always dreaming about domination!”

Nathan shrugged. “Well that would be fun too. I have no doubt you’d look marvelous tied to my bed.” He still didn’t know where this recklessness was coming from, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop, not when Jack was now pressed fully against him, his eyes huge and reflecting the lamplight.

A car engine starting up around the corner startled them both, causing each to pull away.

Immediately, Nathan could see Jack putting emotional as well as physical distance between them. Loathe to let the moment go, he impulsively reached out to gently capture the other man’s wrist. “Have dinner with me.”

“I thought you just ate.”

Rolling his eyes at Carter’s inanity, he expounded, “Tomorrow night. At my house.”

Jack didn’t answer right away, but he didn’t make a move to pull his arm away either. In the dim light Nathan couldn’t make out his profile clearly enough to see what he was thinking, but when Jack turned back it was with open honesty in his eyes. “What are we doing, Nathan? What do you actually want from me?”

He was tempted to answer flippantly that he just wanted to have dinner with Jack, but the look in the other man’s eyes was too vulnerable for that. This was a man who was still hurting from a bad relationship twenty years ago, and also bore the scars of a more recent divorce. 

“I don’t know, but I want to find out.” That was as honest as he could be. Until two days ago, he’d never consciously considered Jack as a romantic partner, even if he’d been subconsciously flirting for a while. Now that his eyes had figuratively been opened, he was desperate for a chance for something, anything with the other man.

“I know that we work surprisingly well together even when we’re threatening to kill each other. I know that there’s mutual attraction. I know that watching someone else flirt with you drives me insane.” (And wasn’t that a thought for another time, as he went back and re-examined his previous jealousies over Jack’s interactions with Allison.)

“I know that nobody else has ever affected me the way you do, for good or for ill. I know that whatever this is, I want to try it.”

Jack’s face was still hesitant as he nodded his acceptance of the date, but the smile in his eyes was radiant. 

There were still many hurdles they’d have to face, and there was a chance that this could go down in flames, but Nathan was surprisingly hopeful. And he owed it all to the presence of Jack’s cheating ex-boyfriend – who would be getting a very clear message of what would happen to him if he didn’t stop harassing _his_ boyfriend.


End file.
